Company Blog

Characterizing High-Q 100 pF Capacitors with the MFIA

30.01.2017

Dielectric diagram

In a previous blog post we discussed how the MFIA could be used to investigate 3000 F capacitors; here we turn to the other end of the spectrum to investigate 100 pF capacitors. Specifically, this blog post looks at high-Q (low loss) commercially available SMD capacitors...

The Nyquist Diagram for Electrical Circuits

11.01.2017

Schematic

The Nyquist diagram of a transfer function is a parametric plot of its imaginary part versus real part as the frequency sweeps in a certain range. When dealing with electric circuits, the transfer function is the immittance of the circuit, i.e., it can be either the impedance or the admittance of the circuit...

Workshop on Nanomechanics

09.12.2016

Stiffness

This workshop organized with CNRS customers in Montpellier among the RéMiSoL network (Réseau des Microscopies à Sondes Locales) focused on all aspects of contact mechanics at the nanoscale and in particular using resonant contact AFM mode (CR-AFM). Contact resonance tracking measures the shift in resonance frequencies of the cantilever while...

Frequency Response Measurement with Chirps and Leakage-Free FFT

28.10.2016

Good Chirp Setup

This post explains how to measure the frequency response of a component or system with high spectral resolution in a minimum amount of time. Rather than sweeping the frequency and recording each spectral point individually, the approach presented here is based on a fast and continuous change of the frequency...

Better Amplitude Accuracy with the MFLI Analog Adder

07.03.2016

HF Output Add

Many lock-in applications use a drive signal consisting of a small AC excitation voltage and larger DC offset voltage, for example differential conductance (dI/dV) measurements. Users of the MFLI Lock-in Amplifier have the choice between two methods to generate such a signal: using the analog adder ("Add"), or using digital...

Using Digital Lines as Trigger Sources

03.02.2016

Save Demod Data on Trigger High

Starting from the LabOne 15.11 release, accessible from our Download Center , all HF2LI users with the enabled HF2LI-WEB option can now benefit from the latest software developments that were previously reserved for the UHFLI. One tool that is now totally new for this instrument is the Software (SW) Trigger...

Characterizing the ESR of a Supercapacitor with the MFIA

11.01.2016

MFIA with SuperCap

Supercapacitors are very useful devices providing power for applications ranging from SRAM to high-speed trains. The energy density is 10 - 100 times higher than that of standard (electrolytic) capacitors. And although they have a lower energy density than lithium-ion batteries, they have a much higher power density...

LabOne Software Trigger as a Tool for Multichannel Mapping Applications

25.11.2015

First 7 harmonics

In earlier blog posts, I presented several methods to synchronize data acquisition with third party instruments, either via the DIO input as a h ardware trigger (TTL pulse), some gated triggering scheme for pass/fail analysis or to capture only transient phenomena in a longer data stream ( ring-down method example)...

Eddy Current Testing with the MFLI Lock-in Amplifier

05.08.2015

Eddy current

This blog post describes a method to detect material defects. Eddy current measurements are used for non-destructive material testing (NDT). An alternating magnetic field is penetrating a sample. The material defect is detected by a phase shift. Experimental Setup

Optimizing PLL Performance with PID Advisor and Auto Tune

27.07.2015

Loop block diagram

LabOne provides two tools that save time and improve performance for anybody working with the UHF-PID option: the PID Advisor and the Auto Tune feature. They enable automation of the feedback parameter tuning required to achieve the best PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller performance. In this blog post, we'll show you an example that demonstrates the power of both of these tools...

Achieving High Data Transfer Rates with the UHFLI

07.07.2015

Scope Streaming Schematic

The UHFLI Lock-in Amplifier features the smallest time constant on the market, making it an excellent instrument for fast measurements like in imaging applications. The UHFLI can provide demodulated data at a bandwidth of up to 5.2 MHz and sampled at up to 14 MSa/s...

Characterization of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Impedance at Low Frequencies with the HF2IS Impedance Spectroscope

03.07.2015

Setup

The electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique is used to characterize the physical-chemical processes of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) using different types of metal oxides semiconductors, dyes or electrolytes [1]. The EIS technique can be applied to obtain the DSSC frequency response over a wide frequency range from mHz up to MHz...

SPM User Meeting in Leiden

17.06.2015

Dan's Tutorial

On June 3rd my colleague Romain Stomp and I welcomed Zurich Instruments' users with a focus in scanning probe microscopy (SPM) to visit us for the day at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In the morning, Romain shared his expertise with a presentation outlining how to optimally configure the HF2...

Pass/Fail Tests for Failure Analysis

08.06.2015

Pass/Fail Graph

For quality control in manufacturing process, there are many ways to tests for transistors or other component failure, but for high throughput verification usually simple Pass/Fail tests are required. Since devices are tested for various functions, different tests need to be performed in this pass or fail mode. The basic...

Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy with the HF2LI Lock-in Amplifier

23.05.2015

DLTS vs Temperature

A very small concentration of lattice point defects, or simply defects, such as vacancies, impurities, dislocations, grain boundaries or cavities, are responsible for creating many different properties in semiconductors. Defects play a crucial (beneficial or detrimental) role in determining the suitability in terms of performance and reliability of a specific material to be used in a semiconductor device...